1.
group portrait, group statue
A work of art depicting multiple figures together, such as a group sculpture or group painting.
広場に群像彫刻がある。
There is a group sculpture in the plaza.
この壁画は労働者たちの群像を描いている。
This mural depicts a group portrait of workers.
美術館の入り口に展示されている群像彫刻は、戦後の復興をテーマにした力強い作品だ。
The group sculpture displayed at the museum entrance is a powerful work themed around postwar reconstruction.
2.
ensemble of characters, group of people portrayed together
A collection of characters depicted in a literary, dramatic, or cinematic work. Often used in the term 群像劇 to describe an ensemble drama with multiple protagonists.
この映画は群像劇だ。
This movie is an ensemble drama.
若者たちの群像を描いた小説が話題になっている。
A novel portraying an ensemble of young people has become a topic of discussion.
さまざまな立場の人々の群像を通して、現代社会の矛盾を浮き彫りにした作品だ。
It is a work that highlights the contradictions of modern society through an ensemble of people from various walks of life.
USAGE NOTE:
In modern usage, sense 2 is very common, particularly in the compound 群像劇 (ensemble drama). This term is widely used in film, TV, and literature criticism to describe works with multiple main characters whose stories interweave.
The literary magazine 群像 (Gunzō), published by Kodansha, is one of Japan's major literary journals and hosts the prestigious Gunzō Prize for New Writers.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 群像劇 (ensemble drama)
- 群像彫刻 (group sculpture)
- 群像を描く (portray a group of characters)
- 人間群像 (human ensemble, gallery of characters)